Recent closures in Louisville's downtown could signal lasting issue

Despite closures, the district's sales revenue remains high

By Anthony Hahn

Staff Writer

Posted:
01/20/2017 07:31:26 PM MST

Mike Price, owner of Little Horse Books and Vintage on Main Street in Louisville, arranges some of his inventory on Friday. While its sales tax revenue continues to surge year after year, a string of recent downtown closures have left some businesses worried. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

The shuttering of Louisville's Madera Grill and Blue Parrot Restaurant — the latter a local 98-year-old haunt perched along the city's popular Main Street — may signal a pattern of lasting issues throughout the town's growing district, though an increase in sales tax revenue offers a murkier picture.

Despite a continued growth in sales tax revenue for the downtown district, several restaurants and a handful of retail shops have either closed their doors or moved.

Some of the stores that have closed or moved in recent months include Switch Boutique, Swoon Jewelry Studios, Gifts at Cooper's Corner, Bella Frida, Louie's Pet Supply, Ville de Luxe, the Fuzzy Antler and Tilt.

For some shop owners such as Laura Lambrecht, the owner of Bella Frida, which recently moved from downtown Louisville to Boulder's popular Pearl Street, the answer may lie in the city's inability to embrace local retailers.

"I would have loved for downtown Louisville to be a thriving retail community," Lambrecht, who owned the store's Louisville location for roughly five years, said Friday. "But it just isn't — and it doesn't have much support from the city. I feel like the city doesn't value the diversity of having a mixed-use commercial downtown."

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According to different owners, however, the reason some businesses are struggling is somewhat murkier.

"Street closures were kind of the nail in the coffin for some of the surrounding businesses," Fred Burns, owner of 740 Front Street restaurant, said Friday. "Because of all the construction last year, some people just took the attitude that they were just going to avoid the area entirely. A lot of people didn't realize the impact it had on Main Street."

Such impacts were shared among surrounding mainstays, including Waterloo, whose sales saw a drop since last year despite an influx of patrons into the area, according to owner Josh Karp.

"I've definitely noticed less overall business across the board," Karp said last month. "I don't know the reasoning behind 2016 being a very different year."

Another component is the raise in minimum wage that came at the beginning of this year, said Zucca's owner, Lenny Martinelli, who added that the increase could have been the "nail in the coffin" for Madera in December.

The latest available sales tax revenue for the area, from January to September, totaled $766,150, according to the city's website. The total represents a 6 percent increase over all of 2015's $722,630.

"We have to look at the area as a whole," Louisville council member Ashley Stolzmann said Friday. "Sometimes businesses do come and go — if someone wants to retire, that's out of our control.

"You're always going to have differing perspectives," she added. "Some think government can always do more, and some think the city should subsidize businesses less. With the sales tax being so high, I think we're subsidizing the area a good amount."

Over the past year or so, though, downtown Louisville has seen the openings of Pica's Mexican Taqueria, Sushi Yoshi and Moxie Bread Company, among others.

For some, such as business owner Mike Price, the answer for the recent closures might come from the city's ever-changing demographics.

"I don't think (the store closures) are as drastic as they seem," Price, who owns Little Horse Books and Vintage on Main Street, said Friday. "Louisville is experiencing changing demographics and different tastes. It isn't the cute and quaint town that has the little gift shops anymore.

"It's changing, but it might be changing for the better," he added. "Hopefully the new shops will carry on the town's tradition, but it just seemed like some of the businesses that closed didn't exactly have their fingers on the pulse of what the younger demographic in Louisville wants."